The 200th anniversary of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston was celebrated on Saturday at St Mary’s Cathedral in Kingston.
CLICK HERE for details on the significance of the Kingston Archdiocese to the history of the church, the British empire, and Canada.
The Archdiocese spans from Quinte West and Marmora in the west, to Ormsby (near Gilmour) in the north, Prince Edward County in the south, to Chesterville and Morrisburg in the east.
Apostolic Nuncio (Papal Representive) Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic (Slovenian) spoke ahead of the mass.
“I bring with me the greetings of the Holy Father Pope Leo and I communicate his paternal affection and solicitude for the church of Canada and for this archdiocese. This church was established by another Pope Leo, Pope Leo the 12th. How radically different the circumstances and conditions which led to this decision to create a new diocese from the ancient and venerable archdiocese of Quebec in what was then a vast region known as Upper Canada.”
“It would have been a most daunting task for the first bishops, clergy, religious and lay faithful who, together with the First Nations communities for whom this place was home for millennia, set down the foundations of the church we see and witness today.”
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Archbishop Michael Mulhall. (Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
Archbishop Michael Mulhall gave the homily to those in attendance.
“This is a day of celebration ourselves, also reflecting upon the faithful of this diocese, many of whom arrived 200 years ago or in the years afterwards and settled their families and established their parishes and built up the church which it is today by living the faith, in their marriages and in their lives. Served by the religious who’ve been so precious to us in the caring for the sick, in the education of the poor, and the care of the poor as well. And the priests that the Lord has chosen for us over these 200 years to serve the means and the sacrificial needs of all the faithful and continue to today.”
PHOTOS FROM THE CELEBRATION CAN BE FOUND BELOW
(Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
(Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
(Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
(Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
Deacons, priests, bishops, and cardinals gather outside St. Mary’s Cathedral in Kingston. (Photo: Sharon Buffet/Scene by Sharon)
